Apparatus for treating solid fuel particles



Nov. 2, 1937. E. COOPER ET AL APPARATUS FOR TREATING SOLID F UEL PARTICLES 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed May 1 Nov. 2, 1937. E. COOPER ET AL APPARATUS FOR TREATING SOLID F 'JEL PARTICLES Filed May 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 2, 1937 PATENT- OFFICE APPARATUS Foa'mEA'rmo sonm FUEL r a'rroms Edward Cooperand Thomas 0. Shiela, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignors to Elias Rogers Company Limited, Toronto, Ontario, Canada AppIication May 1, 1931, Serial No.140,087

6 Claims. .(CI. 91-44) .1

This invention relates to an apparatus for treating solid fuel particles particularly for spraying coal or coke with a dust-laying liquid such as oil. The object of our invention is to provide a means for very efllciently spraying the particles of coal with a liquid in such a way that substantially all the particles are sprayed with a minimum of waste of the liquid.

Numerous difflculties are met with in spraying coal or coke with oil. One of the difliculties is that when the spraying is done intermittently the oil becomes cold and stiff when the spray is cut ofi and will not properly atomize when spray 1 ing is re-commenced. This difficulty is overcome by the construction described and claimed in copending application filed March 19, 1937, Serial No. 131,873, whereby a constant flow of warm 7 fuel heats the fuel in the spray nozzles.

20 A further difiiculty is that the fuel remote from the spraying apparatus is not properly sprayed even though a very thin stream of fuel is treated. Moreover the coal is apt to freeze into larger lumps the outside only of which is 25 treated. Subsequently when the lumps break into smaller particles, the particles are untreated and dusty. Furthermore when the coal passes through the treating apparatus intermittently, unless the flow of oil is promptly cut off when 30 the iiow of fuel stops, there is considerable waste of oil.

We overcome the latter difficulties and attain the objects of our invention by means of an apparatus whereby the falling fuel particles are sprayed from two sides thereof, a baiile being provided to break up the fuel into comparatively thin streams, and means being provided for removing large lumps of fuel and for automatically shutting off the oil spray when the flow of fuel is interrupted.

The invention is particularly valuable when treating coal or coke with oil because a high grade expensive oil must be used for proper atomization, and any waste or inefiiciency in the method or apparatus used increases the cost of the operation very considerably, in some cases making the cost prohibitive.

Our invention is more particularly described and is illustrated in the attached drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 a vertical section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 a plan view of the spraying apparatus 55 partly broken away;

in particles of the desired size is shovelled o'r otherwise discharged into the hopper, and passes out through the discharge opening Ill in the base of the hopper in a comparatively wide, thin stream. Beneath the discharge opening of the hopper is a fogging box I3 which is open in its bottom. An inverted V-shaped baflle [4 extends from end to end of the fogging box and is arranged beneath the discharge opening in the hopper ill so that the stream of fuel is divided into two substantially equal parts as it flows from the hopper.

Arranged on each side and above the bafile M are a plurality of inwardly directed spray nozzles 15, three being shown at each side arranged so as to direct a fine spray of oil or other liquid over the particles of fuel as'they pass over the bafile.

Below the baflle and outwardly directed are a plurality of spray nozzles l6, three being shown as directed towards one side of thebafile and three towards the other whereby the inner sides of the streams of particles of fuel as they descend from the baffle I4 are subjected to a fine spray of oil or other liquid. The nozzles are fed by branches from the supply pipe 30 which branch pipes are branched to the nozzles.

It will be seen that the comparatively long narrow discharge opening in the hopper produces a comparatively thin stream of fuel particles which is divided into two streams of approximately half the thickness of the original stream. These streams are subjected to the spray of liquid on both sides as they are falling so that practically all the particles are coated with a uniformly fine coating of liquid.

The solid fuel which is treated in this manner has usually been screened and graded before treating with the liquid. However, when fuel is stored in cold weather it frequently freezes into large lumps. .If these lumps are treated only their surfaces will receive a coating of liquid. The result is that when they break through impact or melting, the individual particles which form the lump have not been properly treated.

To eliminate these lumps, means is provided for screening them out and automatically removing them from the hopper. For this purpose a screen I1 is mounted on the hopper ID, the plane of the screen lying substantially at an angle of 45 to the plane of the discharge opening i9 of the hopper, the loweredge of the screen being adjacent to but above the said opening. At the lower edge of the screen I! is an opening ill in the side of the hopper through which lumps screened out by the screen H may pass to a chute. Above this opening is a plate i8 inclined in the opposite direction to the screen ll adapted to direct particles of fuel awayfrom the opening Ill and towards the screen H to prevent the particles from passing out through the opening l without first passing over the screen i1.

In order that the liquid sprays may be turned on, or cut off as soon as the,fiow of fuel ceases, means is provided for controlling the supply of liquid, which is fed to the nozzles under pressure by means of a pump or pumps not shown. For this purpose a plurality of overlapping wings or fingers iii are mounted on rods 20, 29 which extend on either side of the hopper l0 above and parallel to the long sides of the discharge opening Ill (see' Figs. 1 and 2). The rods 20, 29 pass through and are rotatably mounted on the sides of the hopper Ill.

The mechanism for automatically controlling the supply 'of liquid will be described with regard to the nozzles at one side of the baflle I, it being understood that the same mechanism is used on both sides.

Referring to the right hand side of Figs. 3' and 4; outside the hopper and at one end thereof a lever 2| is fixedly secured to and extends at right angles to the rod 29. At the free end of the lever 2| is a roller 22, on which rests the free end of a lever 23, the other end of which isfixed to a shaft 24. The shaft 24 is pivotally mounted on brackets 25, 25 which are secured to each end of the fogging box i3. Mounted on the shaft 24 centrally thereof is a crank disk 28 at one side of which is pivoted an arm 21 having a series of holes 21 therein. The handle 23 of a whistle valve 29 is pivotally connected to the arm 21 in one of the holes 21, which are provided for purposes of adjustment. The whistle valve 29 is located in a branch from the main 1 liquid supply pipe 30 which is branched to the nozzles l5.

When the fingers I 9 are depressed by the weight of coal, the lever 2! is raised, which in turn raises the lever 23 which rotates the shaft 24 causing the arm 21 to move downward, pulling down the handle 28 of the valve 29 thus opening the valve and permitting the liquid from the supply pipe 30 to pass to the nozzles l5. When there is no, coal in the hopper the fingers l9 are raised by the weight of the valve opening mechanism described above' and the operation of the said mechanism is reversed closing the whistle valve 29.

To open and close the branches of the feed line to the lower nozzles l6, bent links 3| are pivotally connected to the lever 2| and loosely connected to one end of a rod 32. The other end of the rod 32 is pivotally and eccentrically connected to a crank disk 33 which is mounted on a bracket 34 secured to the fogging box ii. A rod 35 is pivotally and eccentrlcally connected to the crank disk 33 and the lever handle 38 of the whistle valve 36 in the feed pipe 31 leading from the supply pipe 39. The. rotation of jects of this invention.

What we claim as our invention is: 1. Apparatus for treating solid fuel comprising a hopper adapted to hold fuel particles having a discharge opening in its lower end; spray nozzles below the discharge opening of the hopper; a feed pipe for feeding liquid under pressure to the nozzles; a valve in the feed pipe; pivotedlfingers adjacent the lower end of the hopper, said fingers tending to rise but adapted to be depressed by the weight of fuel in the hopper; and connect- I ing members between the fingers andthe valve 20 whereby when the fingers are depressed the valve isopened.

2. Apparatus for treating solidfuel comprising a hopper adapted to hold fuel particles having a discharge opening in its lower end; spray nozzles below the discharge opening of the hopper; a feed pipe for feeding liquid under pressure to the nozzles; a valve in the feed pipe; pivoted fingers adjacent the lower end of the hopper, said fingers tending to rise but adapted to be de- 30 pressed by the weight of fuel in the hopper; a rotatable horizontal rod on which said fingers are mounted; a lever fixedly connected to the horizontal rod; a second rotatable horizontal rod; a lever fixedly connected to the said second horizontal rod and adapted to be slidably engaged by the first mentioned lever to rotate the second horizontal rod; a crank disk on the second horizontal rod adapted to rotate therewith; and connecting means between said disk and said lever, whereby the valve is opened and closed by the rotation of the cam.

3. Apparatus for treating solid fuel comprising a hopper adapted to hold fuel particles having a discharge opening in its lower end; spray nozzles below the discharge opening of the hopper; a feed pipe for feeding liquid under pressure to the nozzles; a valve in the feed pipe; pivoted fingers adjacent the lower end of the hopper, said fingers tending to rise but adapted to be depressed by the weight of fuel'in the hopper; rotatable horizontal rods on which said fingers are mounted; levers fixedly connected to the horizontal rods; a substantially vertical rod; links ccnnecting said levers and said vertical rod whereby the vertical rod is raised or lowered when the horizontal rods are rotated by raising and lowering of the fingers; a crank disk rotatable by the vertical rod; a rod adapted to be actuated by the disk to open and close the valve in the feed pipe.

4. Apparatus for treating solid fuel comprising a hopper adapted to hold fuel particles having a discharge opening in its lower end; spray nozzles below the discharge opening of the hopper; a feed pipe for feeding liquid under pressure to the nozzles; a valve in the feed pipe; a valve actuating member positioned in the lower part of the hopper movable by the weight of coal in the hopper to a valve opening position; and connecting members between the valve actuating member and the valve whereby the valve actuating member actuates the valv the valve actuating member normally tending to move to its valve closing position.

5. Apparatus for treating solid fuel comprising a hopper adapted to hold fuel particles having a discharge opening in its lower end; spray nozzles below the discharge opening of the hopper; a feed pipe for feeding liquid under pressure to the nozzles; a valve in the feed pipe; a finger pivoted at its upper end adjacent the lower end of the hopper, said finger tending to swing inwardly and upwardly but adapted to be depressed by the weight of fuel in the hopper; and connecting members between the finger and the valve whereby when the finger is depressed the valve is opened.

6. Apparatus for treating solid fuel comprising a hopper having a discharge opening at its hottom; means for splitting the discharged fuel into two parallel streams; spray nozzles located at each side of each stream adapted to discharge towards said streams of fuel; means controlling the discharge from the nozzles; a valve actuating member positioned in the lower part of the hopper movable by the weight of coal in the hopper to a valve opening position; and connecting members between the valve actuating member and the valve whereby the valve actuating member actu-' ates the valve,.the valve actuating member normally tending to move to its valve closing position.

THOMAS C. SHIEIS. EDWARD COOPER. 

